The Lady in the Mirror
by Sihaya
Summary: (CHAPTERS 9 & 10 UP!!!) Sequel to Child of the Wood. Niphredil endures pain, angst, love, and loss in the midst of a strange realm that must become her home.
1. Chapter One

A/N- I had a dream that Legolas proposed to me last night. I'm more than a little disturbed…

This is the first chapter in the sequel to **_Child of the Wood_**. I highly recommend that you read that first. :0) Thank you. And one reminder- Théodred is back from the dead.  THIS STORY IS AU.  

~Chapter One 

            He sat at the table across from me. He was tall and handsome but in my heart I wondered if I could really love him. My heart was frozen. I sat tall and erect as a statue carved into stone. The conversation was ridden with awkward pauses and nervous glances. I felt as if I would explode at any moment. 

            _Legolas!_ My heart cried. _Legolas, where are you? Come get me, please, rescue me from this hell! I'm trapped! I don't know how to get out, oh Legolas, please come soon! Please, rescue me…_

Théodred cleared his throat slightly and stuck his fork into a piece of meat. His blonde hair flopped over his eyes slightly; it hadn't been trimmed in a long time. Stubble crossed his cheeks like shadows, although he didn't have beard or mustache yet. His eyes were clear and blue and searching. I wondered if he could see the pain in my eyes and I hoped it didn't show. Éowyn sat next to her cousin and looked at me with a pitying glaze. A small feeling of relief crept into my heart. Throughout the pain of this whole ordeal, at least I had a _melon, _a friend.  

            Théodred reached for his wine glass and took a sip. His hands were big and calloused from a lifetime of riding horses. He saw me looking at them and smiled slightly, though it was an uneasy smile. "Do you like horses?" he asked. 

            "I love horses," I whispered. "I had one at home."

            "In Lothlórien?" he asked. 

            "Yes," I said.

            "I've never been there," said Théodred, his brows drawing together. "I heard it was beautiful."

            "It is," I said. Inwardly I cursed myself for not being able to say something more interesting. My heart beat faster. My father talked to Théoden as he sat beside me. I was miserable. I had no one to talk to now, not even Éowyn. I tried to comfort myself with the fact that it would all be over in the blink of an eye but it didn't work. Not now, not with Théodred so near. There was no going back. 

            I heard a faint voice in my head- it sounded like my mother, even though she was so far away. _El eria e môr, I lir en êl luitha uren_, the voice said. _A star rises out of the darkness; the song of the star enchants my heart. _The verse echoed in my head. Had my mother really seen my happiness in marrying Théodred? I had to admit, he was very handsome although nowhere close to Legolas. He was human and he looked it. Legolas had the timeless looks of the immortal. Théodred looked more rugged and weathered, like Aragorn. He was probably the same age as Legolas's friend, except he looked a little younger and he was blonde. 

            Théoden rose from the table. Celeborn followed him out of the room. Soon Éowyn left too.

            "How old are you, Niphredil?" Théodred asked suddenly. 

            "Why?" I said, bewildered. "Is it important?" 

            Théodred shrugged. "I don't know…it's just that you're going to be around forever, and I only have years left," he said. 

            "Does that bother you?" I asked concernedly. I didn't want this thing to get off on a bad start. "So many nights have passed where I laid awake, wondering what living out eternity would be like…and I'll admit, it almost scared me to death," I laughed harshly. "Outliving the world…" 

            Théodred's face twisted into a kind of half smile. I wondered what he was thinking. I wondered if he thought that I would miss him when he died…

            "Can Elves really sense things?" Théodred asked, leaning forward a bit.  His eyes were dark now. 

            "Yes," I whispered, as if I was telling him some sort of grave secret. 

            "Can you sense the darkness coming over the world?" he asked.

            "Sometimes," I said. "My mother- the Lady Galadriel- has a Mirror…you know of the Mirror," I said. He nodded. "That is sometimes how we know…other times it's just a feeling, an instinct. _Mornie utúlië_," I said. 

            "Darkness has come," he answered.

            "You speak Elvish?" I asked, surprised. 

            "I learned it as I grew up," he answered. "I heard bits and pieces and just pasted them all together."

            I laughed softly, and the silence drove a rift between us. The questions we did not dare to ask hung between us, weighed down our hearts in the beginning of this forced friendship. "Do you think this will work?" I asked. There. The question was voiced. Théodred sighed.             

            "I think it could work," he said softly. "It could work if we just learned to adjust to each other. I imagine that it will be very hard, though, as the days pass…and I grow old, and you remain, as you are…" his voice trailed off. I saw us together, walking down the streets of Edoras, he an old man and me still a young and vibrant Elf… 

            "I'm sorry," Théodred whispered. 

            "Sorry for what?" I asked, fighting back tears.

            "For all this," he said.

            "It's not your fault," I said. "I know it's not your fault. My father decided that I should be married and decided that we needed to strengthen our alliance with the Men," I said. His eyes looked sad and deep, wells of feeling. "I'm sorry," I said to him. He took my hand in his from across the table. They were warm and big and rough. They were not Elf hands but I found comfort in them nonetheless. We were partners in our pain.

            "I think we'll be alright," I whispered. His hands caressed mine gently. "We'll be alright." 

            Théodred smiled, a real smile this time. I smiled also, until Legolas's face briefly flashed before my eyes. The grin melted off my face slowly. As Théodred sensed that something was wrong, he held my hand a little tighter. 

~~~

            "My aunt wore it," Éowyn whispered to me as she held out the dress cautiously. "As will you…" her voice trailed off as she tilted her head at me, her blonde hair spilling off her shoulders. The white fabric rustled in her hand and folded onto itself as her hands moved. I reached out and stroked the dress with one finger. As the fabric caught the light it shimmered silver, to darkest gray until coming back to its opalescent color.

            "And your father sent this," Eowyn continued, holding something out to me. It was a circlet of silver, edged in gold. Three multifaceted teardrop diamonds hung off the center, catching the candlelight light prisms. I balanced the circlet in my hands delicately, feeling the smooth metal in wonder. It was my mothers wedding circlet. I had pictured her in it many times, the transparent silver material hanging off the rear trailing down her back.

            Now it was mine. 

            I set it on my hair delicately and turned to the mirror. My breath came sharply. I looked just like Galadriel. With trembling hands I removed the circlet and the veil and set them on the bed, not wanting to look at them. They were the seal for a fate that I had not wished.        

            I wondered why I was not dead yet, for the two ways that death came to Elves were through war and through heartbreak. This qualified with the latter, but still breath came, and my heart beat with the flow of the stars. I did not understand it. Maybe it came with some higher purpose, although this was heartbreak in its cruelest- 

            Maybe it was right. 


	2. Chapter Two

AAHH!!! I just saw **The Two Towers** and it was even better than the first one, IMHO. And, if I may say so myself, Faromir is very cute indeed…but never fear! Legolas is hot as ever… ;)

And keep in mind- The Rohirrim are not banished yet because Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn are not there yet! It happens AFTER they get there! (I think)

~Chapter Two 

            The wedding was set two weeks from that day. There was no time for the usual formalities in these times of crisis and warfare. The next few days were long, with me constantly at Théodred's side. Three days after his arrival he led me to the stables. 

            "Pick one," he said, grinning. I walked down the long aisle that ran the length of the stable, looking into the stalls. Beautiful horses peered out at me, with iron plates bolted to the doors with strange names engraved into them. Finally I reached an empty stall, the only one in the place. I ran my fingers over the engraving.

            "Shadowfax?" I asked. Théodred sighed. 

            "He was one of our best horses," he said dejectedly. "The Rider stole him."

            "The Rider?" I asked. 

            "Some say he was a wizard once," Théodred said. "I wouldn't know."

            I ran my hand over the stall door and continued walking. Unconsciously Théodred took my hand and I decided to let it go. As each day passed I felt less awkward around this strange man, and even found myself looking forward to seeing him as the dawn broke in the east. 

            I looked into one of the stalls and inhaled sharply. The most beautiful horse I had ever seen stood there. It was not in the shape or the color of the horse, but simply in the way it moved and the fire that burned in his eyes. Théodred saw where I looked and grinned. "That's Flame," he said. "You see, the fire"-

            "In his eyes," I murmured, my gaze fixed on the horse. Théodred squeezed my hand and threw the bridle he held onto a hook in the wall. 

            "Who needs those?" he said, peering down the hall to make sure no one saw. "Come on." 

            Laughing, I swung onto the horse as Théodred led his own out of its stall. He jabbed it gently in the side with the heel of his boot and the horse took off at a gallop. Flame followed, his feet pounding on the dirt floor of the stable until we were out in the open air. The wind whipped my hair about as we flew over the green rolling countryside. I laughed unconsciously, joyously, as we rode up and down the sides of the mountains. Their peaks towered above us and pierced the clouds, rising into nothingness.

            We stopped once we reached a flat plain. Théodred laughed and spread his arm over the countryside. "Your kingdom, milady," he said jokingly. I grinned and studied the horizon. The mountains rose in the distance, fencing in the broad fields. 

            "Théodred," I said, "it's beautiful!"      

            "It's Rohan," he said, looking at me with a funny look. I laughed and kicked Flame gently. He took off across the plains. I heard Théodred laugh as his own horse burst into life, chasing Flame across the fields. The horses raced and I watched as the countryside flew by. Edoras soon rose on the horizon and Théodred reined his horse in. 

            "Whew," he said with a smile. I grinned back as the horses walked towards the city. Soon we reached the gate and were let back in by the guards. Flame cantered up the street and found his way into the stall. I swung his door shut gently and slid the iron bolt into place. Flame whinnied and kicked the door. I laughed as Théodred balanced a few sugar cubes on the top of the door of the stall. I followed him out of the stables and into the bright sunshine. I could see the whole of Rohan from the hill. It was beautiful, in a different way then my home. It had its own beauty. Suddenly I was willing to give Rivendell another chance. I was overcome by a longing to see faraway places, to find my own adventure. There was such conviction in my gaze that Théodred was startled when he met my gaze.

            "Is something wrong, Niphredil?" he asked.

            "No," I said, shaking my head. "Nothing is wrong. 

            "Théodred!" a voice called from inside. It was Éowyn. She came out of Meduseld and stood on the stairs. "Come on, its time for the evening meal," she said; now addressing me also. "Where did you go?" she asked.

            "We just rode," Théodred said.

            "Go on," she told her cousin, beckoning towards the table. "I must speak to Niphredil for a moment.

            "Is everything all right?" she asked me as soon as Théodred was out of earshot. 

            "Yes," I said, surprised at the question. "Why?"

            "You look happy," said Éowyn, smiling. "That's a good thing," she hurried on. "It's just that you've been looking so down these past few days." 

            I sighed, remembering Legolas. My heart sank. Being away from that for a few hours had been so good. Now, I supposed, I had to face reality once more.

            "I don't know what to do, Éowyn!" I sobbed, overcome with misery. "I wish this had never happened. I wish everything would be all right. I don't know if I want to marry Legolas or Théodred or just kill myself and get it over with." I leaned against my friend and she hugged me comfortingly. She sighed.

            "I don't know either, Niphredil," she said honestly. I felt foolish suddenly and gently pulled away. Sighing, I walked with Éowyn to the dinner table. The realization came upon me then, that this was not going to solve itself. I resignedly sat down, thinking of my predicament. Words floated across my mind as I dazedly ate across from Théodred-

Tiro! El eria e môr 

_I lir en êl luitha uren_

_Aníron…_

Look! A star rises out of the darkness The song of the star enchants my heart 

_I desire…_

            _What do I desire?_ I thought, looking across the table at Théodred. _I don't even know who I am anymore…how do I figure out what I want?_

            Night fell outside Meduseld, pulling the last rays of hope from my heart down with the dying sun. 

_Mornie utúlië…___


	3. Chapter Three

If any of you happen to think that Elijah Wood is hot, I suggest you buy the extended version of FOTR- there's this scene they added during Bilbo's party where there are these close-ups of Elijah's (really cute) face. !!! 

And, please remember to review!!! That's one of the best parts of writing, to me. And, I'm taking the Quenyan courses off LearnElvish.Com, so I'm hoping to have some different translations then the ones on the soundtrack (sorry!). 

This is the chapter you've all been waiting for---the wedding. Or not! What will Niphredil decide? The suspense is killing me! Wait, not me. I know what's going to happen. Haha, you're going to have to read the whole damn thing if you want to know! So get reading. 

~Chapter Three 

          Late in the night I awoke. I didn't know where I was for a moment until I remembered that I was in Edoras, about to marry someone I hardly know to obey my father's wishes. I slid out of bed and climbed through the window, wanting to get away from the smelly men for a little while. Barefoot, I wandered through the streets of the city until I reached the outskirts and passed out of the gate. The flat countryside of Rohan, ringed with mountains, spread out before me. A cold wind whipped my flimsy nightgown around my feet as I walked towards the middle of the field. The tall grass tickled my ankles and hands. I sat down upon reaching a kind of clearing where the grass wasn't as tall and the weeds were less. I dozed off under the midnight sky. 

When I awoke once more I found myself spread out on the grass under the stars. The sky was a deep navy color, the darkest it would ever be. Angry clouds sped across it. A strange crunching sound filled the air.

Crunching? It was something walking across the grass! I scooted back into the tall grass and crouched down, blending in with the night. A dark figure stalked across into the clearing. It bent down and ran a hand across the marks and footprints that I had left in my sleep. 

          I wanted to slap myself. _How could I be so stupid to leave my tracks in the dirt? Lori would be so disappointed in me!_ I thought. _Stupid! _

The figure straightened up and looked in my direction. I immediately stilled my breathing and didn't move. I figured that the creature was a man, come also from Edoras. The man examined the bent grasses where I had scurried to hide. I stood, defeated. "Who are you?" I demanded, my fingers itching for my bow. "What do you want?"

          "Niphredil?" The man asked, surprised. It was Théodred. 

          "Théodred," I said. He came closer.

          "What's wrong?" he asked.

          "Everything," I answered. He said nothing. I knew that he would stay there until I told him exactly what was wrong with me. The thing was, I couldn't do that. If I told him we would never be able to live together, as it seemed that was our destiny. I couldn't tell him that I was marrying him so I could wait for him to die.

          The truth was, I didn't know exactly what was wrong, I just didn't know what was right, which made everything wrong. I sat back down in the clearing, needing to sort out my thoughts. I felt Théodred sit down behind me, his back resting against mine. 

          "Are we going to get married?" Théodred asked.

          "I don't know," I answered. But, in my heart, I did know.

          This is what could happen- we would marry, then he would die, and I would go off and find Legolas smoldering in some fire in Mordor. 

          Or, we wouldn't marry, my father would disown me and claim that I was too stupid to know what I was doing, I would tell him that he was risking my death by heartbreak, and then my mother would come and tell me that she had 'seen' Théodred and I being happy. Being happy _together_.

          Together. 

~~~

          I held my mothers wedding veil in my hands. Galadriel had worn it many ages ago. The delicate fabric folded onto itself in my hands as I placed it on my head. Éowyn smiled. She believed this to be perfect. 

          I put on the simple white dress that Théodred's mother had worn. Éowyn snapped the clasp on the silver necklace my mother had sent me. It was a horse, made with a complicated elvish knot. I glanced into the mirror. I looked like my mother, and yet totally different from her. I smoothed the dress nervously. Éowyn patted my shoulder and left me with my thoughts. 

          I went to the window and knelt. _Legolas_, I thought, _don't be angry. This is what I must do, for my father and for my country. Know that if I could do something for my heart, I would run all the way to Mordor and find you, even if I had to swim through the fires of Mount Doom to get to you. _

_          My heart is breaking, Legolas, and yet happiness has been foreseen in my future. That is the only reason I am going through with this- because my mother has foreseen us being happy. I can only hope for that happiness after Théodred has died, also._

_          I do not wish death on Théodred. He is a good man, and I love him, but never in all the ways I love you. He has his own corner in my heart. You have the rest._

_          I know when I go up to that altar it is supposed to be the happiest moment of my life. Instead the future will look as bleak as ever. The only bright spot on the horizon will be death._

_What have I got to live for when death is the brightest spot on my horizon?_

~~~

I stood in front of Théoden's throne at the top of the hall in Meduseld. This was it. Théoden spoke words but I could not hear them. Théodred took my hand. He squeezed it gently. Sparks exploded in front of my eyes and I had to constantly remind myself of what I was doing and why I was doing it. _It will all be over soon_… I comforted myself with. _It will all be over soon…_

Théoden spoke more words. They sounded final. Théodred took my other hand and bent his head over mine. Then he kissed me. He kissed me. We were married. 

I closed my eyes, not from pleasure but from trying to keep the tears back. The people of Rohan were cheering. They had gained a powerful ally today. They should be happy. 

Where was my happiness?

The doors to Meduseld burst open. The sky seemed to shine with a bright light, as if you were trying to see something through the sun. I squinted. The people of Rohan looked towards the door.

The answer to my prayers had come too late. 

~~~

Cliffie!!! Haha!!! 


	4. Chapter Four

A/N- sorry for that cliffie. Wait- no I'm not. _ Anyway, this chapter is fluff and angst. What a perfect combination. Mostly angst, as you might have guessed. It's 'the chapter of **Truth**'. And **Confrontation**. Yay! 

~Chapter Four

          "Legolas!" I gasped and promptly fainted. 

          When I awoke later I was alone. The room had a slight antiseptic smell, the smell of a healing house. I looked around and took it that I was alone. I set my head back down on the pillow and wept silently for a while.

          I was married, and Legolas was here. What else could go wrong?

          "Legolas," I choked, "I'm so sorry…"

          "Sorry for what, Niphredil?" said a voice. I jumped out of the bed and drew my sheets around me protectively.

          "Legolas!" I said, my tears gone. Legolas stood at the foot of my bed, a slightly amused look on his face, but mostly his eyes were sad and looked betrayed. "Why didn't you tell me you were here?" I said. Legolas shrugged. 

          "What are you sorry for, Niphredil?" Legolas repeated. I sighed and squeezed my eyes shut. How to answer? 

          "I…oh Legolas!" I said, throwing my arms around his neck. He patted my back in a friendly gesture. All was lost…we could never, ever be the same. 

          "Why did you marry him, Niphredil?" Legolas cried into my hair, his calm front gone.

          "Because…" I whispered. "Galadriel said we would be happy…and it would break my fathers heart if I didn't, and…" my voice trailed off as I realized something. 

I loved Théodred. 

It wasn't the passionate love that Legolas and I shared; it was more unconditional love that did not die. 

I pulled away slightly from Legolas as I realized this. I looked into his eyes, frightened of what I might see. "I don't know why I married him," I lied. I knew now. No matter what I told myself now, I knew the real answer. 

"Do you still love me, Niphredil?" Legolas asked. 

"Yes," I said, puzzling at my answer. It seemed as if Legolas and Théodred were battling each other in my heart. "I love both of you," I admitted. "Sometimes I yearn for you, and other times I want…I want _him_, and other times I can't decide, but I still love you and I wish I could have it both ways…" I felt terribly childish now. I tried to remind myself that I was a warrior-maid of Lorien, an heir to the throne of the Wood. This helped a bit and I calmed down. I looked Legolas in the eye and shook my head. "I'm sorry," I said calmly, but sorrowfully.

"I don't know if I could ever feel the same way, Niphredil," Legolas said, going to the window. "But the thing is…" he said, turning back to me slightly, "I'll never be able to let you go." I could hear the sob climbing up his throat. What had I done to him?  
  


"Théodred is going to die," he said. "He is a mortal. What will you do after he dies? You clearly love him, maybe more than you love me…" his voice trailed off as he looked deep into my eyes. He was reading my soul. I turned away.

"Are you just going to wait for him to die?" he continued, coming over to me and laying a hand on my shoulder. "Are you going to wait for him to die, and then come to me? Could it be the same as it would have been had all this not happened?"

"Will you wait for me?" I whispered.

"I don't know," he said, his voice full of honesty. "I don't know."

I nodded, biting back tears. Legolas gave me an uneasy half-smile and then left the room. I listened to his footsteps echo down the hall as I sat on the bed and fought desperately against crying. 

Footsteps. More footsteps, coming towards my room this time. The door opened. Théodred, of course. He sat down next to me and held me in his arms, and I cried against him until the moon was high in the sky.  

~

Yeah, I know it's short but I had to get something up, to keep you folks from dying…yeah, right. Anyway, if I can't post anything else for a while its because FANFICTION IS BEING SO SCREWY AND NOT LETTING ME POST ANYTHING!!! Okay, now that that's out…at least it's something, yeah, and guess what! I'm going to see The Two Towers again with my friend! Yes!!! I can't wait!!! I loved it!!! All of you go see it!!!

Also, I'm in the middle of reading _The Return of the King _and let me tell you, it's sooo much better than the other two books. It's much more exciting and look for some great battle sequences (and giant spiders) in the next movie! I can't wait!!! 

Okay! Bye!


	5. Chapter Five

To everyone that hasn't figured it out yet *cough* whoever reviewed and said that they didn't like the plot *cough*- THIS IS A FLUFFY FIC!!! Okay? If you don't like it don't read it! It's not that hard! 

And any "historical" inaccuracies that might appear in this chapter, I'm sorry! I've forgotten every small detail that happened in the book/movie so point them out NICELY if you will. 

AND, I had ANOTHER dream about Legolas! And, right when we started kissing *yes* kissing---my alarm clock went off!!! Doesn't life suck? Anyway, I'm beginning to think I need a life out of this site @_@ I mean, I'm having dreams about the guy…  

Here's the chappy already. 

~Chapter Five

            "_Melamin_," Théodred murmured, "what's the matter?" 

            How many times had I heard Legolas say those beautiful words to me? _My love, what's the matter? _I could hear his beautiful, caring voice in my ear and his breath on my cheek as I looked into my husband's eyes.

            "Nothing," I lied again, wiping my hand across my eyes. "Just thinking…about my family," I said, saving my face. "I miss them terribly."

            Théodred smiled. "Is that all?" he said, hugging me and then sliding off the bed. "That can be fixed. As soon as we get a chance, I'll take you to Lothlorien myself. But," he continued, his brow creasing, "that might not be for quite a while. I'm sorry, darling, but the darkness in the East is ever growing and I don't know when I might be spared…but I promise," he said, smiling.

            "Thank you, Théodred," I said, sniffling and grabbing my handkerchief from my bedside table. Even though I was not weeping for my family, I did miss them very much already and the thing I desired most in my heart- besides Legolas- was to see the Golden Wood again, and to run along the flowers of the name that I bore. 

~~~

            I dreamt that night of the day I last looked in the mirror. I saw the images replay in my mind in a nightmarish sequence. A blurry white figure looked back at me from the front of the room but I could not see its face.

            I woke, drenched in sweat. I ran my hand through my hair as I realized what I had seen in the mirror- that had been me, in my wedding gown. I had foreseen my own wedding and I had not even realized it. 

            It had been fate after all. 

~~~

            I trailed down the halls of Meduseld, running my hands along the walls. Voices reached me. 

"Father! Why did you banish the Rohirrim? By doing that you are dooming Rohan!" It was Théodred, arguing with his father. I debated whether to stay and eavesdrop or to leave. I did not know that the Rohirrim had been banished. 

The talking went on in low voices, and then in shouts for a while. I recognized Gandalf's voice, saying something about banishing someone. I stood in the middle of the hallway, the wind blowing in through the open windows. The wood was thick and I had to strain to hear sometimes.

Then there was silence. I pushed the door open with my foot. The open door shed light on the hall of Meduseld. Théoden sat on his throne.

"Théoden!" I said, crouching at my father-in-law's feet. "You look so much better!" all the lines on the Lord's face were gone, and his skin was glowing. His eyes were young again as he smiled at me.

"Yes, my dear, and I feel much better also," he said. "Grima has been banished. He was being controlled by Saruman."

The White Wizard! I whistled under my breath and took a look around the Hall. Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn stood in the shadows, Gandalf in front of them. I swallowed nervously when I saw Legolas and looked away, for all I could see in the darkness was his black eyes and the feather tips of his bow, and he looked angry indeed. 

~~~

"Don't send me away!" Éowyn begged. I stood beside her, my hands open to Théoden in a pleading gesture.

"Éowyn," Théoden said firmly, "you must go to Helm's Deep with the rest of the woman and children. You are not a warrior, my girl," he said, his tone softening slightly. "You must find your place in the city. I cannot let you ride with the Rohirrim!" he said. "Understand!" he paused as he searched his niece's gaze. "I cannot let you fight."

Éowyn winced. Théoden looked pained. "You must go pack, my girls," he said. "Pack only what you need, for you must carry what you bring."

Éowyn closed her eyes in a pained gesture, but nodded and walked to her room. I followed her. "Uuma dela, Éowyn," I said, trying to console my friend. 

"I don't speak Elvish," she said mournfully. 

"Don't worry," I repeated in the Common Tongue. "Everything will be alright."

"No," Éowyn said softly, leaving no room for argument. I said nothing. Éowyn knew what she wanted. 

~~~

"Don't be frightened, Niphredil," Théoden said, wrapping me in his strong arms. I cried softly into his leather vest. He traced the outline of my cheek with his finger and wiped away the tears, and then his lips met mine. I closed my eyes and let them linger. Finally he pulled away. 

"Just go to Helm's Deep. Stay with Éowyn. Her and the rest of the women will show you around."

"I can take care of myself," I murmured, remembering the days that my quiver was constantly slung over my shoulder and my bow was always in hand. The calluses had faded, and my hands were that of my mother. 

"Goodbye, Théodred," I whispered, kissing him once more. Then I wandered back to my room and picked up the satchel that I had packed. Éowyn and I walked down to the gathering outside the city gates. I retrieved my bow when the guard wasn't looking and slipped it into my pack. 

The crowd took off when the sun was high in the sky, in a quickened, panicked state. No Rohirrim could be spared to guard us from whatever roamed the wild, so boys mounted mules and rode on the outside of the group, acting like men. 

Boys that had to be men- what were we coming too? 

~~~

The smells of fear and many bodies in a small space collided unpleasantly and assaulted my nose as I entered the mostly filled fortress of Helm's Deep. Burly guards stood at the doors, their arms crossed over their leather-covered armor.

I followed Éowyn to a small room set aside for nobility. I felt a small sense of relief when I saw that I wouldn't have to sleep on the stairs like so many others, but then I felt bad of the thought. I went out into the main part of the fortress and looked around for a little while. People reserved their spaces for themselves by throwing their bags down and spacing them apart. Little children ran around, irritating their mothers, who had frightened glints in their eyes.

There was an aura of doom on the fortress, and it could not be escaped. 


	6. Waiting poem

Waiting

Legolas's POV

Long ago I knew you 

You found my every word

But now my heart is down

Like the flightless bird

Lii vanwië ni hanya le

Le tuv quettaninya

Naan sii indoninya na undu

Ve i laa rimpe wilin 

I look upon you now

There is beauty in your face

You are the daughter of the wood

Beauty and joy to your race

Ni yeetanna le sii

Ye na vanesse mi antalya

Le yeldëier taureo

Vanesse ar alasse noorenna

Your hair shimmers in the sun

It glimmers in the moon

And you have left me behind

Will you find me soon?

Lokselya mirilya mii Anar

Tine mii isil

Ar le lembi nillo 

Hiruvalye rato?

I have tried to escape so many days

But no matter how much I try

I will not leave you here,

I would rather die

Ni akare usinnna lilaure

Naa lau uu-minda lilaure 

Maruvan hyarya elye sinome

Ni melan a fir

You are closed to me now,

I can't read you anymore

I used to know your heart like mine

But now you've shut the door.

-ier _ ana aminnna nooti

  
A mortal has come between us

He has severed our every tie

Do you really love me still

Or is it just a lie?

Despite myself I love you,

Even though your heart's not mine

I cannot draw myself away

I stand waiting in line.

I'm waiting…

~~~

Something from Legolas's POV for all of you that are getting sick of girly confusionisms…anyway, if there are any problems in the Elvish translations, I'm really sorry because I don't know a lot about the grammar yet even though I'm taking lessons off www.learnelvish.com, so forgive me because this was all done using an online English-Quenya dictionary. Feel free to correct any mistakes *nicely*. The next chapter should be posted soon. I have also substituted some words for another, i.e. instead of it being translated to 'long ago' it literally says 'long past'.  I COULDN'T FIND THE WORD 'DIFFICULT' IN THEIR DICTIONARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	7. Chapter Six

Sorry I haven't been able to update as much lately- I was writing chapters in math class but then I left the notebook at school, like the dumb@$$ I am. _ 

So I've got two chapters for y'all now- you CAN really use math in real life!

I've noticed some symbolism in this chapter as I wrote it (when I write I don't really think about what I'm writing, go figure). Did anyone here see Black Hawk Down? You didn't? Did you know that ORLANDO BLOOM was in it??? Betcha you're gonna go see it now. 

Anyway, back to symbolism- when the guy is wiping the pool of blood off the floor, did anyone see how it just go worse??? That's just like the whole da/\/\n movie. 

~Chapter Six  

          The Orcs were coming. I could feel it. The soldiers tensed and became silent. Children whimpered and his behind their mothers skirts. Small boys made swords out of wood before they were issued real weapons. Teenage girls held their heads high, holding back tears, preparing to send their loved ones off to battle

            I searched all over the fortress for Legolas. I had no trouble finding Théodred- he was at my side whenever he could be, which wasn't that often. It was these silent moments when I was alone that I searched for Legolas.

            I climbed the stairs to the top of the first wall, passing a burly blonde guard that I recognized back from Meduseld. He gave me a brisk not to pass, but is eyes followed me back up the stairs. 

            The top of the fortress was bustling and noisy in comparison to the quiet Hornburg. A sentry caught sight of me and marched over. 

            "This is no place for a woman," he growled. His sword glinted in the sunlight. I challenged his gaze. 

            "I needed some fresh air," I said calmly. He caught sight of my pointed ears and gulped nervously, I smiled mysteriously at him and stared at him, for I had the eyes of my mother Galadriel. 

            "Your that girl from the Wood," he said fearfully. 

            "Isn't it obvious?" I said, laughing with incredulity. 

            "You know not to whom you speak, soldier," a third voice said from behind my right shoulder. "This is Lady Niphredil of the Golden Wood." It was Legolas. 

            I breathed in. I could feel his breath on my neck, stirring my hair from my shoulders. The sentry turned away and looked stonily at me from his post. I whirled around to face the Mirkwood prince. I found myself uncomfortably close to him as I turned. 

            "What are you doing here, Niphredil?" he asked wearily. 

            "I needed to get out of that fortress," I said. "Everyone's so frightened."

            "Are you frightened?" he asked, his voice betraying no emotion. I looked into his eyes and tried to find feeling inside, having traces of my mothers gift in my heart. Mostly I saw hurt and blame fighting to break through his calm, happy front. He did not try to block me and I was overcome with the urge to wrap my arms around him and be able to console him, but at the same time I knew I must not. 

            "Yes," I whispered, "very frightened." 

            There was a pause, and the noise from around us somewhat filled the void in our hearts. Slowly we moved closer and I wrapped my arms around his neck. His hands pressed into the small of my back. I cried silently into his hair, but soon the tears stopped and I rested my head on his shoulder staring over the wall. A shadow gathered in the east and my heart knew it was no rain cloud. 

            "Niphredil," Legolas said sorrowfully. I savored the sound of my name on his voice. "Why didn't you wait for me?" 

            I had not expected that question. "The heart is a confusing thing," I murmured. "I would give my life for Théodred- as I would for you." 

            Legolas tucked my hair behind my ear and smiled softly, as if we had come to an understanding between his heart and mine. 

            He left without a word, but met my eyes once more as he began to descend the stairs. My hair blew back into my eyes as I watched him. He was the picture of Elvenkind, a perfect portrait. 

            I sighed as I slowly went down the other steps back towards the Hornburg. The air became stale as I continued down. The stench of many bodies made my mouth dry and eyes water as I continued. My mind wandered back to Legolas. The scars of our parting would never pass. 

~

            The sun fell from the sky and the stars winked on slowly, I heard the door open from where I sat by the windowsill. I turned- it was Théodred. 

            I embraced him slowly. 

            Quietly the stars died and faded in the sky, hailing the approaching dawn. I watched the sky wash with color, as I lay awake in Théodred's arm against his bare chest. 

A million thoughts crumbed and fell into the deep abyss that was my heart. 


	8. Chapter Seven

If you think real hard about what happens at the very end of the last chapter, you'll figure out what happened. ;-)  

And, I copied down this chapter from my aforementioned notebook while listening to my hip-hop CD, so please excuse any little grammatical/spelling errors! 

Wow, this word check thingie is amazing! It interpreted 'sgadiws' (hey, a P.Diddy song was on) as 'shadows'!!! Cool!!! Technology rules!!!

~**Chapter Seven**

          The next morning Théodred was gone, only a letter in his wake. I read it quickly. It revealed nothing important, only containing sweet nothings and worries. I scanned it twice and then tossed it nonchalantly onto the bedside table. 

          The peculiar absence of the men that day did not go unnoticed, as the stricter bar of woman from the fortress's walls was not looked over. The air stilled and was silent, broken only by a baby's cry, which was stifled immediately in turn.

          Doom hung over our heads. I wrung my hands anxiously as I searched for Éowyn. I burst into her room. She sat with her back rigid and straight on her chair, staring out the window.

          "It is happening," she said darkly. The sky's color had deepened ominously.  

"_Nuuruhuine_," I whispered. The shadows of death. "What is going to happen?" I asked, as if she knew. 

"We are going to fight," she said simply. The shadows deepened even as I watched. I fell to my knees in anguish. I yearned for the comforts if my home as the shadows swallowed us. 

I hung my head out the window, needing fresh air. I breathed deeply, trying to slow my dancing heart. Metal on metal sounded far away, the sounds of the beginnings of battle. I was tempted to voice some prayer that I could not put into words.

Éowyn stood. "How I wish I could be out there," she said mournfully. "I am a shield maiden of Rohan, not some seamstress wench!" she cried defiantly. "Curse them who will not let me bear arms for my country!" Her proud words inspired me, and the feelings of confusion were cleared from my head and I felt only the clearest and most specific emotions. Now I felt the same for my bow as Éowyn her knife, and the blood of Lórien ran strong in my veins. 

"If we cannot fight, then we can help in our own way," I said.

Soon the casualties started leaking into the castle like water from a broken faucet. Some were dragging their comrades in under their arms. Soon the marble floor was dotted with pools of blood. Moans and screams came from the hall that we had converted into a ward. A man lying on the floor with an arrow sticking at an odd angle out of his neck was screaming gibberish about Uruk-Hai. A moment later he was silent; his heart was still. I quietly removed the arrow and cast it into an empty receptacle. There were no sheets to cover his still-fearful eyes with, so I gently closed the lids with a tip of my finger while I ripped a layer off the hem of my skirt to use for a bandage on some other bleeding patient. 

Faint sounds of battle reached into the castle, making our eardrums throb with the quiet sounds. Éowyn and I tried to analyze the particularly loud screams. She listened for her banished brother and his Rohirrim and I listened for Théodred and Legolas. 

Loud bangs were heard from outside, followed by several loud thumps. "They're putting up ladders," said Éowyn, straining to hear. She cowered slightly. It was the first fearful gesture I had seen her make. 

The time skipped at odd tempos, until I dozed off into some damp corner, the sounds of battle penetrating my nightmares. 

~~~

Sorry it's so short! I guess Math was over… J


	9. Chapter Eight

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'm back!!! (and better than ever! 0_o ) 

Sorry it took me so long to get back to writing- you have no idea how hectic my life got!!! There was the big formal dance, a funeral to go to unfortunately, and a whole lot more. Now that I have apologized, I must apologize again but this time for something different. It's been a really really long time since I saw the TTT in the theater, and an even longer time since I read the book, and I don't really remember anything. Weep, weep. Although my sister knows what the heck went on in the books, she doesn't exactly know or care about my humble efforts to write a story worth reading. So, in this vein I will present to you the long-awaited Chapter Eight, historical inaccuracies included. 

**~Chapter Eight**

            Slowly my mind shut out the screams of the battle and drifted into a misty dream world. Moist tendrils of smoke whipped against my skin, leaving traces of sparkling dew. I reached out, and my fingers drew against a cold, wet basin, made of a smooth and sturdy stone. I reached into the bowl, and my hands touched a liquid surface. I reached past the liquid, and there was nothing. The bowl was bottomless, a well of emptiness. The mists drew back, as if repelled from the apparition that stood before me- Legolas. Legolas's face appeared on the metallic surface of the bowl, trapped behind the barrier that separated the dream from the myth. 

            A smoky figure swam into view beside the elven prince- Théodred. A small smile crept onto my face as I reached out to smooth the fatigue lines from my husband's face, but as the tips of my fingers dipped in to the liquid, Théodred disappeared. He shrunk back into the mists and Legolas was all that remained. 

            The apparition loomed closer, and my fingers scuttled over the rim of the bowl and back into the sleeve that draped around my arm. The brows on the face drew together, and his slender lips parted-

            "Niphredil! Niphredil!" My hair cascaded in a curtain around my face as my head tilted forward from the angry shaking. "Wake up!" I slid out of the dream and opened my eyes, aware of a sticky substance smeared across my lower arms and hands- blood. Blood caked into my fingernails, and streaked into my hair. "Wake up!" Éowyn grabbed my wrist and pulled my out of my slumping position. 

            "What is it? How long have I been sleeping?"

            "Ten minutes, at the most," said Éowyn as she dragged me through the endless rows of the wounded. "They just brought your husband in, he's wounded. I ran to find you." She led me to our room. Several times I almost tripped over a discarded limb, I stepped on the hems of bloody blankets, and was led over the blood-encrusted weapons. The hallway leading to the room that we shared was strewn with the dead and dying. Still the battle raged on outside the walls of the great fortress, still the whiz of arrows and the clank of metal could be heard through the stone. 

            The door to the room was already partially open, and Éowyn banged it open all the way as she pulled me into the room. A doctor leaned over the bed. Théodred was lying on top of the blanket, blood seeping from an open wound onto the rich velvet. "What hurt him?" I demanded. The doctor pointed to two points on his torso. I kicked his upended shield aside and knelt by the bed. I heard Éowyn leave and shut the door quietly behind her as I drew the dagger out of Théodred's sheath. I drew the blade across the seams of his shirt and tossed the fabric onto the pile of discarded mail and weapons. Two angry welts rose on his chest. The doctor produced two arrows from the bedside table. "Orc-made," I said, examining the feathers and the shape. "But only one of them is poisoned." I showed the doctor the two arrows, side by side. One of the tips dripped with a metallic blue liquid. The feathers crushed between my fingers as I looked at my husband's body. His labored breathing filled the otherwise silent room.

            "I think I can fix it," I said, tossing the clean arrow to the doctor. He dropped his bag and caught it with both hands. I rolled the poisoned arrow between my fingers for a moment before whirling around and tossing it at the bulls eye that Théodred kept in our room. The blue dripped over the white fields on the target as I turned back around to tend to my husband. I placed two of my fingers on the smaller of the two wounds. My fingernails glinted in the candlelight as the sun slipped from behind the clouds, taking the last rays of light with it. I tilted by head back and drew the words from the back of my mind as I remembered all the things my mother had taught me about healing. "_Palpa i kaila_," I whispered, "heal, Theodred, heal, _etill morniëet_." I watched his still eyelids, waiting for a movement. "_Utúvienyes_, I've found it, Théo," I said. "I've found you, come back to me, please." A moment passed. "Please." I pressed the base of my palm into the welt and felt the hot blood rise in my cheeks.

            "Come back."

            Théo opened his eyes. They darted around the room and finally rested on mine. He took a shaky breath, and the lids fluttered over his earth-brown irises. The golden flecks in his eyes glinted in the candlelight. I gasped with happiness and wrapped my arms around him as he sat up, I pulled myself up onto the bed, I covered him with kisses. "Niphredil," he whispered hoarsely, his muscles rippling strongly as he held me. A draft passed through the room as the doctor left and shut the door, drowning the sounds of battle. 

            The battle. "Lie back down, I have to heal the second wound," I said, unable to wipe the crazed smile off of my face. He lay back down; reddish-brown curls scooting across his forehead as he rested on the pillow. Calmly I rested my palm onto his wound and closed my eyes. The same feeling surged up in me like a tidal wave, drowning everything else. The healing power filled my fingertips and melted into Théo's body. Blindly, my fingers traced the edges of the wound, feeling for improvement. The wound was healing, but slower than the first. The poison was preventing the wound from closing. I opened my eyes, and the wonderful high feeling receded. 

            "This wound, this poison, it is beyond my power," I said, my voice laden with sorrow and regret. "I don't know what to do." 

            But Théo only thought of the battle. "Are we winning?" he asked. 

            "There's no way to tell, not from inside the walls," I said, sliding down the side of the bed and clutching his hands in mine. "There are so many dead, and twice that number are dying. They're piled up in the hallways outside your room," I whispered. He exhaled and squeezed his eyes shut.

            "I must fight," Théo said. "My brothers are dying out there."

            I stood. "There is no way that you can fight, Théodred, not today, not tomorrow. I was able to slow the poison but it is still moving, and if we don't get you help in time…then you'll die. Stay in bed, Théo," I said softly. "You'd be of most use here." I could see that he was discontent with this, but there was nothing I could do. Until he could be taken to wiser elves than I, he would have to stay here.

            "Bring the wounded," said Théo. "There's no use piling them up outside our door when there is so much space here." I smiled slightly. 

            "Alright," I said, smoothing the curls away from his forehead. I rested my lips slightly upon his skin, closing my eyes as I felt his hands reach up and tilt my chin down so that I could meet his lips instead. 

            "Goodbye for now, darling," he whispered, settling back onto the bed. "I love you."

            "I love you too, Théo," I said, opening the door. The screams and thuds from the battle exploded into the room. I could see the disdain in Théo's brow as I left, and I could imagine his pain. So many were suffering, so many were dying. In my heart I knew I was lucky as I went to find Éowyn. So many wives would be widows this night. 

            ~~~

Sorry it was kinda short- longer than the other ones but short nonetheless. Oh well, hopefully I will be writing more often now that summers about to start yay!!! Haha review and spread the word! 

P.S.  I saw an author once do this and it was an interesting idea- how old do you think I am?


	10. Chapter Nine

**~Chapter Nine**

_Now I do what all life must do in the service of life._

_Children of Dune by Frank Herbert_

            Word was that we had won the battle- but that didn't really matter, did it? The evil forces were diminished, but they would return. I couldn't rejoice over the victory when I was dripping with sweat and trying to scrub the blood with a sopping towel from the floors of the Hornburg. Several waifs approached me, surprised looks on their faces- 'Highness, let me take care of it, you rest'- and I couldn't think of anything to say. I simply shook my head and returned to my work, ripping another patch of cloth from my skirt so that I could get something done. 

            I would never have picked this life for myself, ever, when I was a young child living under the stern hand of my father. I dreamed of love and faraway places, and I had gotten both, but not in the way I had expected. Part of me marveled at how far Legolas had been pushed back in my mind by all that had happened. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined going two minutes without thinking of him, and wishing that he was with me. But here I was, on my knees, my hands chapped with lye and blood, my mind dwelling on a mortal. 

            Somehow, without my knowing, Théodred had stolen my heart away from Legolas and kept it for himself. I don't know how it happened, or why, or even when, but it seemed that the envelope had been sealed the past night, and I was in love with him. I knew that part of me would always desire the kiss of the Mirkwood prince, and I can swear now that that part of my will never grow smaller, but the regions in my heart governed by resentment of my father and contempt for Théo were growing smaller by the minute, being taken over with my unconditional love for my husband. It was like being sucked into a gentle whirlwind, never letting go of your lover's hand, but then looking up from the love and the feeling of the whirlwind and seeing blackness overhead, and Legolas peering sadly down into the cyclone.

            I sighed and sat back on my heels, surveying my work and all the work ahead. Women walked ahead, piling corpses into a cart and taking them to the main hall for identification and then for burial. Blood oozed from the cracks in the sides of the cart, dripping onto the floor with faint tapping noises. I closed my eyes and tried to swallow another violent bout of nausea, and I squeezed the cloth in my hand, trying to find a source of strength. My hand wrung the saturated cloth of all the fluid it held, and it pattered into a grisly puddle on the floor, staining my skirt. Defeated, I dropped the cloth in a wet heap and wiped my hands on my skirt. My fingernails were crusted and grimy, but that did not stop my from pushing my hair out of my face and smoothing it back as best as I could. I examined the hems of my skirt and selected a fairly dry piece to tear off so that I could continue my work. The cloth came off with a rip and landed in the rusty bucket of lye with a resounding splat. Not bothering to shake the cloth of its excess, I dropped it onto the stone floor and continued scrubbing the stains away.

            Another hand reached into the bucket, drawing out a thick cloth. "I hope your skirt will be able to hold itself together by the time the day is done," said Éowyn with a brand of humor that seemed inappropriate for the circumstances. I managed a small smile as I looked at the clean white cloth Éowyn had brought with her- it was stained red from the dirty water in the bucket even before it touched the floor. She sighed, scrubbing the cloth in a wide circle. Red droplets spread in a rainbow shape as she continued to push the fluids around. "I don't think we'll ever be able to be completely rid of these stains," she said. 

            "Don't complain, Éowyn," I said, a grin pulling at the corner of my mouth. "My knees are cramping from kneeling like this for three hours."

            "If you're tired, then go to bed," Éowyn said matter-of-factly. "I'm here now, I can work."

            "If I wouldn't stop working for the servants," I said, "I'm not about to stop working for you."

            "Suit yourself," said Éowyn. A young girl, no older than six, came with a fresh bucket and took away the used one. I could hear the cleaning substances inside slop against the sides of the bucket. Some spilled over the edge and dribbled down the sides onto the floor. Éowyn swept them in to her cloth and continued cleaning, around and around in a never-ending arc. She shook her head and resignedly tore a piece of cloth from her skirt, using it to dry the newly cleaned wet spot on the ground. The cloth was then tossed to me, and I dried my section of the floor before moving on to the next puddle. The different shades of blood mixed together, forming a disgusting rainbow. 

            "You have a very interesting work ethic," said Éowyn. "I've never seen any of the workers clean with their eyes closed."

            "I've never seen so much blood in my life," I said, my voice shaking. I could sense Éowyn staring at me for a moment, and then she returned to her own piece. 

            Minutes passed, an hour even, before Éowyn said, "the blood of your own countrymen is never a pleasant sight." She sighed and dropped her handkerchief into the now stained lye. "I just wish my blood could be among theirs." Her voice was quiet, but it had a subtle edge under it, as sharp as a knife. I knew that I would never share Éowyn's utter loyalty to Rohan, but simply being able to see her conviction was an amazing sight. She huffed once as she used a tattered sleeve to dry a strip of the stone.

            "Maybe one day, Éowyn," I said, smiling slightly at her. "You're time will come to serve your country in whatever way your country sees best." I stopped at my statement, the swish and swoosh of Éowyn working interrupting my thoughts. I dropped my own pad back into the lye as I sat back and thought about what I had said. Marrying Théo had been my calling, my act of service to my country. If only I had realized this earlier. 

            My hands plunged back into the lye, searching blindly for the ragged cotton square. My fingers found it pushed up against the lower rim, and I drew it out and pushed it into the wet mess on the floor. The edges of this puddle were beginning to dry, and crusted blood pellets ground themselves into what was left of my skirt. 

            The last rays of sunshine hit the puddle, making it glow a brilliant, nauseating shade of red. I dropped the cloth into the bucket, causing the liquids to splash out onto the floor. A drop landed next to Éowyn's hand. "I think I'm going to take you up on that offer, if you don't mind," I said, turning away from my friend. "I need to go to bed."

            "Alright," Éowyn said. I bade her a hasty goodnight and walked quickly down the glistening hallway to the room that I shared with my husband. Théo and the rest of the patients had been moved to the vast dining hall, which had been converted into a kind of ward when enough of the sick had died to fit the remainder of the living into one place. A servant filled the tub with steaming water and left a fluffy towel next to it. Nothing had ever looked better.

            I slid my toes into the water, the heat opening up the pores of my skin and sweeping away all the blood that had dried on it. I dunked my hair into the water, feeling the nausea wash away with the dirt and the grime. The water lapped against my collarbone as I slid in to heaven, closing my eyes as bits of moisture gathered on my eyelashes. The water cooled around me as I sat in the blurry realm between being asleep and being awake, but soon the water had settled a shade below room temperature and I got out and wiped my skin dry with the towel. I wrapped my hair in a cloth and slid under the covers of the bed that I had grown accustomed to sharing. 


	11. Chapter Ten

Now, my friends, we take a step away from the first person narrative and into my native tongue of (drum roll, please) third person! Yay. It's about time things thickened up here! Now, in third person, I present to you…

**~Chapter Ten **

You have eternity. I have only now.

-God Emperor of Dune 

By Frank Herbert

The night was restless. The trees swayed in the gentle breeze that passed through the open windows and over the bed that Galadriel and her husband Celeborn shared. Golden locks of hair flitted lightly over the thin bed sheet that covered the wise elf's body. She could hear Celeborn's regular breathing and again tried to still her thoughts so that the sleep would come, but it was no use. Defeated, Galadriel slid out from under the sheets and walked silently out of the room, making her way through the trees of her forest to the clearing she knew so well. She could hear the bubbling of the spring as she drew nearer, and she could see the softly glowing white of the stone of the Mirror. She waved her hand to dismiss the guard that stood ten meters away, poised with a hand on his bow and the other on the arrow that loaded it. The guard walked to a post farther away, hiding himself from the Lady's gaze by stationing himself behind a tree. He kept his senses tuned to the Lady's position, though- you could never tell exactly who walked in the forests.

Galadriel wrapped her long fingers around the silver pitcher, her clean fingernails tapping against the mirrored surface. The rim of the pitcher slid into the enchanted waters as silently as an elf walked across the leaves. She waited until water bubbled over the edge, and then she lifted the pitcher out of the spring and walked over to the basin that formed the Mirror's shell. Deftly she poured the water into the basin, raising it at an angle so that the water swished around the sides of the basin and foamed at the edges. When the pitcher was empty she returned it to the small stone enclosing that covered it from the rain and the dew, and returned to her Mirror.

The water calmed in the bowl, and the surface was as smooth as glass. Starlight and moonlight reflected off the surface and bounced off the nearby trees, forming ethereal patterns on the shimmering leaves. Galadriel leaned over the edge of the basin. _"Tirn,"_ she whispered. _"I see." _ The bottom of the basin dropped out, leaving nothing but a black infinity below her. She quietly quelled the falling feeling that was induced by this first part of Seeing and waited for the images to come. For a few moments, nothing did come, and the mirror was still.

Then, Niphredil's graceful curving face graced the surface of the mirror. Galadriel's first reaction was, _O, my lovely daughter, how you have grown! _She saw her daughter standing next to her husband, kissing him in bed, and wrapped in the joy of young love and happiness. _She is happy, as I knew she would be,_ Galadriel thought, reaching out as if to touch the image, but then she stopped herself. The hand dropped back at her side. The images continued flickering across the crystalline surface of the mirror as if on a film. She saw her daughter eating, sleeping, crying, and loving, and then the picture settled on a face that she recognized from long ago- Legolas. His features came into focus, and Galadriel saw that he wept. It was not a bawl, or a single tear, but a simple, quiet, resigned kind of weeping. His long blonde hair framed his sculptured features as his lips moved quietly. Galadriel could not catch the words that he said, but as he spoke his eyes filled again with tears, and he stared mournfully out the window.

Abruptly, pictures of death and violence interrupted the serene, sad image. Bodies fell from fortress walls and landed with sickening splats on the hard ground. Blood spilled from open wounds and leaked onto white floors. Distraught women hurried around, tearing their skirts to shreds in an effort to bandage the wounded. Screams echoed in Galadriel's ears, bloodcurdling screams laced with the _twap! _of flying arrows. Swords clashed with armor as the battle raged, and the Lady watched in horror at the scene. 

Slowly the images of violence stopped coming, and settled on one- a cloth saturated with blood scrubbing a floor that was covered with a rain of blood. The hands holding the piece were chapped and swollen with lye and blood. Galadriel recognized Niphredil's wedding ring on the ring finger of the left hand. She watched as her daughter cleaned the nauseating mess without ever seeing her face. 

A scream grew in the background of the image and was wiped away by a sudden flash of a fire-filled red eye- the eye of Sauron. Galadriel pulled back in fear against the image, and with an echo of evil the eye pulled back into the mirror.

The wind once more disturbed the surface of the mirror as the visions came to an end. Galadriel shook slightly as she made her way back across the forest floor, reminded of the evils that gathered on the edges of her mind. The ring she bore seemed to grow in weight as she climbed back into bed beside Celeborn. His steady breathing calmed her a bit, but she remained awake for quite a time after that before she finally drifted off into a restless sleep. 

~

She was focused on her work, unusually focused. Sunlight played through the strands of hair that had fallen out of the ribbon at the nape of her neck. Oh, how he wished to reach over and to be able to tuck the hairs behind her gracefully curving ears, and then to kiss her until everything was all right and the puddles of blood on the floor forgotten.

But he could not. She was a married woman now, even though he still held her heart next to his. His bosom ached with tears unshed as he watched her crouch down to the ground, scrubbing at the floor with all of her might. She had been that way for hours now, and he had watched her. He had seen the way her eyes never left the floor, how she didn't even look up to plunge her cleaning pad back into the bucket that sat beside her. She didn't wring the cloth out, but left it soaked through with the cleaning solutions, spilling droplets of fluid onto the floor as she cleaned. How he wanted to love her. In his heart he still did, and he wanted to be able to forgive her as much as he wanted to be able to hold her. But every time he saw her with him, every time he fought next to him on the battlefield, it was hard not to feel a bit of resentment.

Even though Théodred was a mortal, even though death loomed on his horizon closer with every day gone by, it was hard to forget how Niphredil played along. Legolas found it hard to believe that Niphredil had felt the kind of love for Théodred that Legolas felt for her, but it was a possibility that grew more likely every time he saw the two of them together. Whenever he saw their approach, though, he had to turn and walk away. It was too hard a sight to bear. 

Pain and anger and love laced his dreams at night as he thought of the beautiful elf that should have been his. These feelings were alien to him, not because he usually got whatever he wanted or was unused to being denied, he simply felt that volume of pain because the feelings that he felt for Niphredil were truer than anything he had ever felt in any of the thousands of years that he had lived- and it was unlikely that he would ever feel like this again for the millennia to come.

_She'll be there for those millennia,_ Legolas thought. _Eternity is ours for the asking…_


End file.
